Suarez’s late homer lifts Reds over Cardinals, 4-2

Eugenio Suarez’s two-run homer in the seventh inning gave the Cincinnati Reds a 4-2 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, a result that showed how one swing can define a tight division game. Rhett Lowder had already held St. Louis to two runs over five innings, and Cincinnati finished the job after Suarez celebrated the go-ahead blast with Sal Stewart.

The timing mattered as much as the score. The Reds had been swept in St. Louis from June 5-7, and they entered the game at 47-54 while the Cardinals were 52-50, so the late homer did more than change a night’s result. It helped Cincinnati answer a familiar road problem against a division opponent and take a game that had stayed close deep into the night.

Suarez’s power had been building. MLB’s game preview said he had hit five home runs in his previous 11 games, and this latest shot fit that stretch of production. He also homered earlier in the week against Seattle, connecting off former Reds pitcher Luis Castillo in a 4-2 win, which underscored that Cincinnati’s veteran slugger had already been driving the lineup through a productive run.

Lowder’s line gave the Reds a workable foundation. FOX Sports listed him as Cincinnati’s starter, and he delivered five innings while allowing two runs. Dustin May started for St. Louis and entered with a 5-7 record and a 4.78 ERA, but the Cardinals could not hold off Cincinnati once Suarez broke through in the seventh.

The win also pointed to the kind of formula the Reds need in close games: steady pitching, a late power bat and enough relief work to preserve a narrow lead. Terry Francona’s club did not dominate the Cardinals, but it did not need to. It needed a mistake to punish and a bullpen to secure it, and Suarez provided the swing that changed the game.

For Cincinnati, beating a division rival on the road after that June sweep carried practical value in a crowded standings picture. In games like this, late offense and bullpen support are not side notes. They are the difference between drifting behind in the race and leaving Busch Stadium with a win that can matter again when the division standings tighten later.